Around 65 lakh pilgrims visit Gangasagar: Bengal minister
Gangasagar and taken a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga River and the Bay of Bengal so far this year, West Bengal minister Aroop Biswas said. Heavy security arrangements have been made at the fairground, situated on Sagar Island, where many more are expected to arrive on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Monday.
Apart from the state police, NDRF, SDRF and Coast Guard personnel have been deployed with necessary gear for responding to any eventuality.
«Nearly 65 lakh pilgrims have visited Gangasagar Mela till Sunday noon since the opening of the fair on January 8,» Biswas, the state Power and Sports minister, told reporters here.
He said that the annual fair is underway seamlessly with pilgrims paying obeisance at the Kapil Muni temple after a holy dip at the confluence of River Ganga and the Bay of Bengal.
Biswas said the fairground, spread over the sprawling beach, has been brought under the surveillance of around 1,100 CCTV cameras and 22 drones.
He said that 14,000 policemen have been deployed, 45 watch towers built and pilgrims are being ferried to Sagar Island through 36 vessels, 100 launches and six barges across 22 jetties, while 300 fog lights have been installed on Muriganga River.
The minister said that 17 buffer zones have been created from Babughat in Kolkata to Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas district for controlling the flow of traffic and pilgrims to ensure there is no overcrowding at any given place.
The journey to the pilgrimage site from Kolkata, a distance of around 130 km, entails a river crossing by vessels.
